Count of L.A. homeless to start tonight

Some 3,000 volunteers will tally them in streets, alleys, parks, under bridges and along the Los Angeles River beginning tonight in the nation's largest homeless count.

With more than double the volunteers over its previous survey, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority is expected to comb more than 700 census tracts through Thursday night as part of a federally mandated tally taken every two years.

Despite a dip in the number of homeless from 2005 to 2007, volunteers are expected to discover more homeless residents this time because of the recession.

"We need to update our 2007 data to know what homelessness looks like in 2009," LAHSA Executive Director Rebecca Isaacs said. "How many homeless people are there? ... What's the best way to help them?

"The best thing is knowing. If a community knows how many homeless there are, then they can plan for services."

During the first homeless tally in 2005, so-called enumerators marked down 88,000 local homeless - the highest in the nation. Two years later, about 1,500 paid homeless workers and volunteers counted 73,000 street people in the census at a cost of $819,000.

This year, LAHSA has mobilized twice its number of trained volunteers and increased its coverage area by 15 percent. The joint Los Angeles city-county agency distributes money from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to homeless shelters and other services. This year, it expects to hand out $72 million.

The homeless count was launched to collect data that demonstrates the need for federal funds, raise awareness and to target housing and services to homeless residents.

In Los Angeles County, the homeless count will rely on volunteers counting the homeless by sight, then following up with an in-depth survey of 3,000 homeless residents.

Indications are that, as the economy has tanked, the number of homeless has grown.

"We've received anecdotal results from (homeless) service providers that says there's been an increased need for services," LAHSA spokesman Syd Peterson said.

Homeless advocates in Ventura County see the same trend.

"Based on the number of people coming in for service, the need is greater and we are expecting a higher number of homeless this year, unfortunately," said Cathy Brudnicki, executive director of the Ventura County Homeless and Housing Coalition.

In 2007, the agency received $2 million in federal funds after coordinating a count of 1,961 homeless residents, 14percent of them children.

While L.A. County enumerators tally by sight at night, all but one of the cities in Ventura County conduct their count during daylight and include interviews of homeless residents. The homeless count is mandated by HUD in order to receive federal money, but the tally does not determine the amount of funding, Isaacs said.

From the 2005 to the 2007 count, L.A. County's homeless population dropped by 15,000 residents, while funding to LAHSA rose $10 million.

L.A. County's enumerators conduct the count visually, identifying those who appear to be homeless by sight without interviewing them to verify their homeless status.

"What the count is - (is) looking around in the dark, walking along the street with a paper tally sheet ...," Isaacs said.

"The idea is not about engagement. Don't forget, we're doing this under bridges, in the riverbed, forests, parks and at night."